Transporting arrangement for different yarns



Sept' l5, 970 R. SCHMIDT 3,528,622

TRANSPORTING ARRANGEMENT FOR DIFFERENT YARNS Filed sept. 11, 1968 Ff@ l Ff'D//VG STA 7"/ONS OF K/V/ 77N@ MA C60/VE 942/ am-24J www..

United States Patent O 3,528,622 TRANSPORTING ARRANGEMENT FOR DIFFERENT YARNS Richard Schmidt, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany, assignor to Franz Morat G.m.b.H., Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany Filed Sept. 11, 1968, Ser. No. 758,951 Claims priority, application Germany, Sept. 13, 1967, 1,635,867 Int. Cl. B65h 51/04 U.S, Cl. 242-47.()1 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE The German Pat. 1,147,705 discloses transporting rollers of the above-described type having a mirror-smooth surface and rotating at a very high speed so that due to the high peripheral speed of the cylindrical transporting surface, any tension variation in the yard is immediately compensated.

It is evident that the slippage of the yarn on the transporting surface depends on the fraction coefficient of the yarn, and that yarns having different texture and consisting of different materials will slip to a different degree on the mirror-smooth transporting surface of the transporting roller.

The frictional slipping of synthetic yarns, woolen yarns, cotton yarns, blended yarns, twisted yarns and vtextured yarns, for example, is due to the different surface properties of these yarns so different that transporting rollers according to the prior art cannot produce the same yarn tension in different yarns fed by the transporting rollers to the feeding station.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is one object of the invention to provide a yarn transporting arrangement permitting proper feeding of different yarns to a working station.

Another object of the invention is to adapt the friction coefficient, or the diameter, or both, of a rotary transporting roller to the properties of the transported yarn.

An arrangement according to the invention preferably comprises a plurality of transporting rollers driven by drive means at a high rotary speed and having peripheral transporting surfaces for frictionally engaging and transporting different yarns from a supply station to a working station. Inaccordancewith the invention, the transporting surfaces have different properties selected in accordance with the frictional properties of the respective yarns transported by the same.

By making the transporting surfaces smooth or rough to different degrees, depending on the friction coefficient 3,528,622 Patented Sept. 15 1970 f. ICC

of the transported yarn, the result is obtained that upon a variation of the yarn tension at the working station, the different yarns slip on the respective transporting surfaces to substantially the same degree so that all yarns are delivered at a desired tension at the working station.

If a plurality of transporting rollers is provided for transporting a plurality of different yarns, some of the rollers may have peripheral transporting surfaces of different diameter, and other transporting rollers may have transporting surfaces whose friction coeiicient is different.

Generally, it can be stated that yarns having little tendency to adhere to the transporting surface are transported by smooth rollers, while yarns which tend to adhere to the transporting surface, should be used with rough transporting surface. Synthetic, smooth and textured yarns tend to adhere to the transporting surface, while twisted yarns, woolen yarns, cotton yarns, and blended yarns have a lesser tendency to adhere to the transporting surface. The determination of the type of transporting surface required by a particular yarn, also depends on the question whether the yarn was treated with oil or parain.

The terms smooth and rough as applied to the transporting surfaces have a wide scope, and particularly a rough transporting surface may have an extremely fine roughening as compared with a mirror-smooth transporting surface, or may have a very rough surface, or even be provided with transverse grooves or recesses in the transporting surface.

The invention permits the adaptation of a set of transporting rollers provided in a knitting machine, for example, to entirely different sets of different yarns in accordance with different patterns.

The novel features which are considered as characteristie for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction land its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a fragmentary schematic elevation illustrating a set of transporting rollers for transporting yarns having different properties to a set of feeding stations of a knitting machine; and

FIG. 2 is an axial section illustrating a transporting roller according to a preferred embodiment of the invention driven by an electric motor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE `PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Four dierent yarns 1, 2, 3, 4 are unwound from packages 25 on reels 25a by a set of four transporting rollers 5, 6, 7, 8 each of which has an inner part 21 which is driven by an individual motor, preferably at the same speed. As shown in FIG. 2, the inner part 21 is potshaped and has an outer mounting surface on which the inner mounting surface of a sleeve 23 fits. The outer cylindrical transporting surfaces 24a, 24b, 24C, 24d of sleeve 9-12 may be smooth or rough depending on the properties of the respective yarn. The stator of the motor includes a winding 22 mounted on a tube 13 whose rear end has an outer flange 13a fixed to a disc 1S by screws 14. Disc 15 has a central stud 15a secured to a frame 6 by means of a bolt 17. Flange 13a carries a panel 18a for the terminals of conductors 18 connected to winding 22. Tube 13 rotatably mounts a spindle 19 whose rear end denes a seat for a ball 20 constituting a thrust bearing. Spindle 19 is held against axial displacement by a snap ring 31. The free end of spindle 19 is secured to the bottom of the pot-shaped part 21 which consists of a magnetizable material such as steel and is rotated by the lield produced by winding 22.

Any sleeve 9 to 12 fits on the pot-shaped inner part 21, and rotates with the same.

The sleeves are designated by reference numerals 9, 10, 11 and 12 in FIG. l and are differently constructed in accordance with the different yarn types to be transported by the outer transporting surfaces of the sleeves.

Sleeves 9 and 10 have the same outer diameter. Sleeve 11 has a greater outer diameter than sleeves 9 and 10, and the outer diameter of sleeve 12 is greater than the outer diameter of sleeve 11. Sleeve 9 has a mirror-smooth hardened cylindrical transporting surface 24a, sleeve 10 has a somewhat rough cylindrical transporting surface 24b which may be pitted by sand blasting, and sleeve 11 has a smooth transporting surface 24e` like sleeve 9, but a greater diameter. Sleeve 12 has a rough transporting surface 24d which may have the same friction coefficient as the transporting surface of sleeve which has a smaller diameter.

Each of the transporting rollers 5, `6, 7, 8 with sleeves 9, 10, 11, 12 transports a different yarn 1, 2, 3, 4 as indicated by different broken lines in FIG. 1. Each yarn is wound in at least one loop about the transporting surface 24 of the respective transporting roller, and more particularly of the respective sleeve. In FIG. 1, the loop of each yarn is shown to be radially spaced from the outer transporting surface 24a to 24d for the sake of clarity, but it will be understood that the loop of each transported yarn tightly passes about the transporting surface 24 and is in frictional engagement with the same.

In the example illustrated in FIG. l, yarn 1 may be a worsted yarn, yarn 2 a textured yarn, yarn 3 a novelty yarn such as boucle, slub, or nub yarn, and yarn 4 is a smooth synthetic yarn. It will be noted that the smooth yarn 4 cooperates with a transporting surface 24d which has a great diameter and is rough, while the worsted wool yarn 1 cooperates with a smooth transporting surface 24a having a small diameter as required by the high friction coefficient of yarn 1. The greater diameter of transporting surface 24e of sleeve 11 is selected in accordance with the properties of the novelty yarn 3. The same diameter of the rough transporting surface 24b of sleeve 10 is selected according to the property of the textured yarn 2.

The adaptation of the outer surfaces 24a to 24a' to the different yarns has been described by way of example with reference to FIG. 1. Other arrangements can be made for different yarns. If a textured yarn 2 is to be supplied to the feeding station of the rst transporting roller 5, sleeve 9 is pulled off the inner part 21, sleeve 10 is pulled olf the inner part 21, and'sleeve 10 is -placed on the inner part 21 of transporting roller S. Sleeve 9 may be placed on the inner part 21 of transporting roller 6, if a worsted yarn is to be fedby the same, or another sleeve having an outer transporting surface with different properties may be substituted. Sleeves 9 to 12, have inner cylindrical mounting surfaces tting on the outer mounting surface of the inner part 21 with such tolerance that sleeves 9-12 can be manually pulled off, and other sleeves manually pushed onto the inner part 21.

It is also possible to omit the sleeves 23 of one, some, or all transporting rollers in which event the outer cylindrical surface of part 21 is used as transporting surface, and is constructed smooth or rough as required by the respective yarn transported thereby.

In any event, the peripheral transporting surface of the transporting rollers 5 to 8 must be adapted to the properties, texture, and frictional coefficient of the respective transported yarn to obtain uniform sliding frictional engagement when the yarns are uniformly tensioned, so that a uniform yarn tension prevails between transporting rollers 5 to 10 and the feeding stations of the knitting machine.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also nd a useful application in other types of transporting and feeding arrangements for yarns differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a plurality of transporting rollers for yarns having different properties and being smooth or rough, large or small, depending on the properties of the respective transported yarns, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made Without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims:

1. Transporting arrangement for different yarns, comprising, in combination, drive means; a plurality of transporting rollers driven by said drive means at a high rotary speed and having peripheral transporting surfaces, respectively, for frictionally engaging and transporting different yarns having different frictional properties from a supply station to a working station, said transporting surfaces having different properties selected in accordance with the frictional properties of the respective yarns transported thereby so that upon a variation of the yarn tension at said working station, said different yarns slip on the respective transporting surfaces to substantially the same degree so that all said yarns are delivered at a desired tension at said working station.

2. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherensaid transporting surfaces have different friction coeilcients selected in accordance with the friction coeicient of the respective transported yarn.

3. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 2 wherein at least one of said transporting surfaces is smooth, and at least an other one of said transporting surfaces is rough.

4. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said yarns are looped about said transporting surfaces of said transporting rollers, respectively; and wherein said transporting surfaces have different diameters.

5. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said transporting surfaces have different friction coetcients selected in accordance with the friction coefficient of the respective transported yarn; wherein said yarns are looped about said transporting surfaces of said transporting rollers, respectively; and wherein said transporting surfaces have different diameters.

A6. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 5 wherein at least one of said transporting surfaces is smooth, and at least an other one of said transporting surface is rough.

7. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said transporting rollers includes an inner part and an outer sleeve detachably mounted on said inner part for rotation therewith and having said peripheral transporting surface so that by exchange of said outer sleeve for another outer sleeve having a dilferent transporting surface said one transporting roller can be adapted for transporting yarns having different frictional properties.

=S. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 7 wherein a plurality of said transporting rollers include iner parts hnavig outer mounting surfaces with the same outer diameter, and outer sleeves respectively detachably mounted on said inner parts and having different peripheral transporting surfaces and inner mounting surfaces matching said outer mounting surfaces so that said sleeves can be interchanged and placed on different inner parts.

9. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 8 wherein said sleeves have peripheral transporting surfaces, respectively, having diferent friction coeicients selected in accordance with the friction coeicient of the yarn transported thereby.

10. Transporting arrangement as claimed in claim 9 whereing said peripheral transporting surface of at least one of said sleeves has an outer diameter diierent from the outer diameter of an other one of said sleeves, and

wherein said yarns are looped about said transporting surfaces of said sleeves, respectively.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,798,593 7/ 1957 Lowe et al. 242-47.()3

3,020,621 2/ 1962 Sacks.

3,093,330 6/1963 Schmidt 242-45 10 3,390,840 7/1968 Barnett 242-47.01 X

NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner 

